Goalkeeper Aiden Prall says helping Sheppey United make the FA Cup First Round for the very first time is the best feeling he’s had in football by some distance.

The Ites’ No.1, part of the Corinthian team which missed out on the FA Vase Final in 2020 after Semi-Final defeat on penalties to Hebburn Town, already had enjoyed one of his best days when they won 4-1 at Merthyr Town last month.

But that was topped as Prall came up with the vital spot-kick save in Sheppey’s 5-4 Fourth Qualifying Round replay penalties triumph at home to Isthmian Premier Billericay on Tuesday night after a 1-1 draw. The teams had also drawn 1-1 in Essex last weekend.

“What a night,” enthused Prall.

“After the Merthyr game, I’d have said that was the best day that I’ve ever had in football - but this beats it by a long shot!

“I played in an FA Vase Semi-Final a few years back. Obviously, being one step away from Wembley was massive.

“But getting into the First-Round proper, with a Step 4 team, I think that happens once in a lifetime. I’ve now been lucky enough for it to happen to me.”

Report: Sheppey 1-1 Billericay (Sheppey win 5-4 on penalties)

Boss Batten’s best yet

One of the biggest-ever crowds descended on Holm Park.

They saw seven-goal striker Dan Bradshaw give the hosts the lead, only to limp off in the first half, and Canterbury-born Ricay midfielder Bradley Stevenson equalised in the latter stages of normal time.

Away midfielder Ben Wells was sent off in extra-time before the lottery of penalties.

Prall, who can now look forward to facing League 2 Walsall, said: “I think both sides chucked everything at it.

“After the game at their place, some of us were thinking ‘Was that our chance to go through?’ Some will say that they had an off-day on Saturday.

“But at the end of the day, we have got a team that is full of belief, full of confidence and we took the game to them. If people want to say they had an off-day, I think we were good enough to make them have an off-day.

“So credit is due where credit is due to the boys in front of me. They were incredible.”

Bradshaw put United ahead in the first half of the replay.

While he again couldn’t last the course due to a hamstring injury, he still made a big impact.

Prall said: “It just goes to show the character that we have got at the club at the minute.

“People want to fight through injuries and they’re fighting to get a position in the squad. They’re putting everything on the line.

“You’ve got Bradshaw struggling with injuries, playing and scoring goals, and Connor Wilkins at the back, taking the ball on the nose.

“I think every player is looking left and right and would run through a brick wall for the person next to them.”

Many of Sheppey’s squad know each other well and plenty would have known one another before joining the club from their respective youth-team days at Charlton.

Prall thinks the fact last term’s squad, which narrowly missed out on an Isthmian South East play-off place, has largely stayed loyal has been a catalyst for their best-ever FA Cup run.

“I think the biggest catalyst for it is we have kept pretty much the core of the team from last season,” explained Prall, himself publicly a subject of an approach from big-spending Faversham last term.

“In non-league, you get seven-day approaches here, there and everywhere - and that’s football. But if you keep a core of a side, I think you give yourself the best possible chance.

“If you have a similar starting XI week-in, week-out, everyone can then create partnerships, you can create chemistry and you get to know players.

“It’s more than just on the pitch as well. We have our team nights out and pretty much spend three days a week here together.

“When you have that sort of bond with your defenders, you’ll take one on the nose, you’ll take one on the chin and you’ll take one in the nuts.”

Prall hadn’t had much luck in previous shoot-outs in senior football. He saved from Billericay captain Matt Johnson, though, a spot-kick save which would prove the difference.

He revealed: “I think I’ve played in three penalty shoot-outs - and I don’t think I’d saved a single penalty in one of them before! But I just had a feeling.

“In my head before the shoot-out started, I decided I was going to pick a side and just go big. I think I guessed right four out of five times.

“Obviously, I made the one save. But credit to the five boys that took them.

“They have taken five great penalties and, ultimately, it’s won us the game.”

It was left to midfielder Jacob Lambert to convert the winning penalty to spark wild scenes.

“I didn’t know what to do with myself,” said Prall, who works with team-mate Oscar Housego and turned 25 last month.

“My first thought was just ‘I’m going to pick Jacob up and run him straight into the crowd and celebrate with the fans.’”

And the keeper accepted the home fans in the crowd of 1,235 - only 47 shy of Sheppey’s record attendance - made a massive difference.

He said: “It was huge.

“Even at Billericay, I think we outsung them. They came out in their numbers again.

“They were there at Billericay, they were vocal and they really did push us through - and even more so here.

“Walking out for the warm-up, we could see there were probably around 500 or 600 there already.

“In the penalty shoot-out, all of them were cheering me on and it does give you that extra 10 per cent. They can take as much credit as us boys are going to get.”

Boss Ernie Batten, also part-owner, retook the reins at Holm Park after a summer in which Jack Midson left as manager and Matthew Smith stood down as chairman.

But Batten oversaw Sheppey’s quadruple-winning 2021/22 campaign and already is enjoying plenty of success this time.

“He’s been great,” said Prall, who joined United in the 2022 summer.

“In football, everyone has got different ideas and different ideologies around how they want to play. Ernie has come back in and he’s not had any grey areas.

“He’s said ‘We want to play entertaining football, attractive football and we’ll keep the ball on the deck and try to work our way through the thirds’ and, by all means, they (Billericay) may have had the lion’s share of possession.

“But there were plenty of times where we had good passages. We got the ball out wide to our good, attacking, wingers.

“I think it’s been pretty smooth-sailing with Ernie.”

There is now a gigantic home tie for Sheppey’s players and fans to get excited about against Walsall next month.

For now, though, they will need to switch their focus to league matters.

They have only played three league games all term but host Horndean this Saturday and Lancing on Tuesday.

“It feels like forever since we played a league game to be honest,” noted Prall who still hopes to challenge for promotion. “I can’t remember what it feels like!

“The team is playing with real confidence at the minute and taking every game in our stride.

“If we put in performances like that, hopefully, we can take our form into the league.”